Kia has marked its 80th year not with a special edition but with a concept called the Vision Meta Turismo and it is easily one of the most dramatic shapes Kia has shown in years.
The stance is low, the nose is almost non-existent and the lighting elements sit perched on aero fins like something from a sci-fi racer. The windscreen stretches deep into the roof, tapering neatly toward the rear. As for the wheels, they look like they have a job beyond rotating, but Kia is not saying what that job is yet.
Step inside and the mood shifts from futuristic GT to digital cockpit. The driver sits in a gold seat that feels more simulator than road car and there is a lever jutting out from the armrest that could be the gear selector or simply a design flourish. Hard to tell because technical details are in short supply.
There is, however, a large augmented display projected along the base of the windscreen with three modes: Speedster Dreamer and Gamer. The last one talks about missions and rankings, so clearly, the boundary between driving and gaming is shrinking faster than we think.
Kia has not said what powers it, but given the packaging and the year, the safe bet is electric. Although the display shows a first gear indicator, simulated shifts could be part of the experience, like we have seen in the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N.
For now, the Vision Meta Turismo feels more like a preview of Kia’s design vocabulary than a production intention. Whether we see parts of it on the road remains a question, but recent Kia models suggest the idea is not far-fetched.
